Some Fearing Township residents got a special delivery Tuesday evening: a free smoke detector from the township's volunteer fire department.
"We decided to give out smoke detectors because if we save one life, we're ahead," said Mike Moore, president of the department.
Smoke detectors will eventually be delivered to all 380 of the township's residences. Moore said Tuesday was the first time the department traveled door to door to give them away, but there will be additional delivery dates scheduled in the future.
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The Fearing Township Volunteer Fire Department is giving smoke detectors to residents.
Stanleyville Road resident Goldie Lauer, 82, already has smoke detectors in her home, but was appreciative of the one that was delivered to her home Tuesday.
"I appreciate everything they've done for me," said Lauer, a former member of the department. "They've done wonders for me."
Fearing Fire Chief Jeff Lauer, Goldie Lauer's nephew, said recent fires where properly functioning smoke detectors were not in place prompted the department to give them to residents.
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ASHLEY HILL The Marietta Times
Fearing Township Volunteer Fire Department president Mike Moore hands Stanleyville Road resident Goldie Lauer, 82, a smoke detector Tuesday evening. Eventually, all of the residents in the township will receive a free smoke detector from the department.
"We've talked about it over the years, but never ran with it," he said.
Moore pointed specifically to two house fires that occurred in the past year that the department assisted with. One of them was a March fire on County Nine Road that claimed that lives of husband and wife Robert and Evalena Barth.
"I was personally on the scene and the Barths were personal friends ... I've known them basically my whole life," Moore said.
Fact Box
How to get a free smoke detector:
* Contact the Fearing Township Volunteer Fire Department at 373-0742.
* A number of other area fire departments also offer free smoke detectors. Contact your local department for more information.
The other blaze Moore referenced occurred at a home on Cow Run Road in Sitka in April. All six people who were home at the time of fire made it out alive, but the home was destroyed, leaving them and four others who lived there homeless.
"It's just a matter between life and death," Moore said. "A house without a smoke detector ... you'll be overcome with smoke because smoke is a silent killer."
Moore said the department spent between $1,800 and $1,900 on the smoke detectors using funds they've raised through various events such as ice cream socials and gun raffles.
"We rely on the township people. They support us," Moore said. "It's just another thing we can give back."
